Mark Ronson Thinks His Sneaker Project Got on Gucci’s Nerves

The sneakers Mark Ronson designed with Gucci will soon roll out in pop-up stores around the world, starting with New York in October. Each pop-up will offer different styles. Mark also told us last night at his sister Charlotte's I Heart Ronson party, he created a "special limited-edition song" for each store. “No one’s looking at me like I’m a shoe designer," he said. "It’s cool to have that, but there has to be a musical component to it as well or it doesn’t make much sense.” He started by choosing his favorite Gucci styles, and then “going to town on details.” “It’s not like a half-assed thing like, 'Oh, someone wants to give me a sneaker,'” he says. He met many times with Gucci creative director Frida Giannini over a period of four months, making sure everything was just right. “I think they probably hate me; they’re like, we just thought some D.J. was going to tell us, like, ‘Red and green,’ and fuck off. And you know, I’ve been, like, 'Oh, wait, what color are the stirrups?' They’re like, 'Who are you?'”

Ronson was unsure of pricing. "I think mine are the cheapest in the shop, I’ll say that. I think they’re maybe $500 or something," he said. "I know it’s a fucking credit crunch, but I think the other ones go for more." Plus, buyers of the shoes get a free iPhone application Ronson created called “Gucci Beats.” “It’s a really easy-to-use software that you can make your own song using different bass lines and keyboard lines and stuff that we made, and then you can put yourself singing or rapping over it, whatever, send it to your friends,” he explains. He declined to reveal further details. “I have to measure every word, I hope you don’t mind,” the Grammy-nominated producer told us. “Like, I might get an injunction from Gucci tomorrow just because I’m talking to you at a party.”